A Victory Well Earned
by Elenhin
Summary: A Bad Day story, Ginger has a really rotten bad day and is quite miserable. Biggles and the others try to cheer him up.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **A Bad Day story, Ginger has a really rotten bad day and is quite miserable. Biggles and the others try to cheer him up. This was written a time when I was having a day just like Gingers, and writing about him getting comforted rather made me feel better myself.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Biggles. I am merely playing with him and his friends. I give my word that when I am done with them they shall have come to no permanent harm. In case of damage I promise I will fix it with some chewing gum and Ginger's mechanical degree.

_**A **__**Victory**____**Well**____**Earned**_

_**Chapter 1 Rotten Doesn't Cover It**_

When Ginger reached the front door and wiped his feet on the doormat he was not in a good mood. In fact he was in a rather miserable mood and he did not feel that it was unjustly for it had been a long rough and miserable day. He had not expected it to be the high point of his career when he sat out in the morning, but he had certainly not expected anything of the sort he had experienced.

Biggles had received a call from the airport with a plea for help. Someone was smuggling large quantities of valuables of different sorts into the country and the custom people could do nothing about it. There were a few people who went back and forth regularly but still nothing had been detected so for quite some time he had been spending his days out by the airport watching the passengers as they got off the plane. He had been standing both with the custom people and also out by the machine, all to catch a glimpse of what was going on but so far he had had no luck at all.

It had been a boring and ungratifying job, but today had been the worst so far and he was truly sick of it. To top it off he had been detained and had been forced to take a later bus from the airport than he intended. When he got off the bus at the last stop there had been no taxi in sight which meant he had to walk home. On a sunny day, or at least a tolerable day it would not have been such a terrible matter but this day it was pouring down rain.

Closing the door behind him he made his way up the stairs, trying to wipe mud from his hands and onto his coat instead. He was tired, cold, wet and terribly hungry, a sensation that caused him no little discomfort as he knew the dinner would no doubt have been taken from the table at the hour he now arrived.

The other three of them were sitting in front of the fire, looking inexcusable pleased and comfortable.

"I say, if you've dragged in any little amount of that mud you've on you onto Mrs. Symes clean floor she shall be in a terrible spat," Bertie laughed as he saw him.

Ginger stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes narrowed though he said nothing. Algy rather thought the look on his face had to be what authors meant when they declared someone looked like a thundercloud. He could just about see the lightning flashes in his eyes. Ginger was by no means hot headed but he was also the more emotional of the four and he was clearly quite furious.

Bertie seemed to pick up on it and quickly quieted down while Algy regarded their young friend with a bit more concern, under the anger there was something that gave him a feeling of someone struggling not to give into despair. Ginger was swallowing hard and it worried him to think about what might have put the boy into such a state.

"How about you take a couple of deep breaths and explain to us what's wrong?" Biggles asked quietly and calmly.

"I wouldn't know where to start," Ginger muttered bitterly.

"Any kind of disaster over at the airport?" Biggles inquired and he shook his head. "What is it then, bad day?"

"Bad day!" he burst out. "Bad day doesn't cover it, rotten day doesn't even cover it. I don't even know a bad enough word to describe it."

"Alright, I get the general idea," Biggles nodded. "Go put on something dry, then you can tell us all about it."

Ginger made his way to the bathroom to drop the soaked and muddy clothes to the floor, then angrily scooped them up and hung them haphazardly over a towel-rack to dry. He was to mad still to do a very proper job out of it and instead aimed for simply getting them off the floor. If Biggles scolded him for the mess he would likely snap at him and that would only make matters worse. Grabbing his dressing gown he wrapped it around himself and went back out to the others, his stomach growling at him.

"There now," Biggles had a note of sympathy in his voice. "Start at the beginning of it all, what's been going on to get you into this state."

"Everything has been going wrong today, every single thing," Ginger swallowed again. "My alarm clock gave out on me, so I got so late I didn't have time for breakfast. Had to go off without anything to eat at all. Then when I get there all them people are getting on me for not having come up with anything yet. Like they have themselves. I've been doing the level best I can, but whoever's in charge of that racket knows his business. All they care is that they've someone to blame and pick on, been insulting me and messing with me all day, sneering at me. I swear you'd think you were in prep school for the way they're acting. I didn't think that adults lowered themselves to that kinda of insults."

"Harsh," Algy agreed grimly.

"I thought I'd get a break from it at lunch," Ginger went on. "I mean, Mrs. Symes packed me sandwiches and with no breakfast I was sure looking forward to it, only when I went to get them they weren't there. I don't know what happened, someone said they'd been cleaning out old leftovers but whatever it was they had done they had cleared my lunch out. Wouldn't put it past them to have done it out of sheer spite either."

"Come now, they wouldn't do that," Bertie put in while polishing his monocle.

"They sure acted rotten enough towards me to do it," Ginger declared with a glare. "I didn't have enough money with me to get something in the canteen so I've had nothing today and I tell you right now I'm so hungry it's not funny anymore. I thought I had at least figured it out, I mean, I've no proof, but I know who it has to be. It can only be them, I swear it."

"Did you check them out?" Biggles asked. Ginger was not unskilled in picking out likely suspects. He didn't have the keenest sense for it, but he still had some pretty good instincts.

"I sure did, and they had nothing on them," he said sourly. "What more, they claimed to take offence and I had to apologize."

"Apologizing is the right thing to do though, I mean if you were wrong," Bertie shook his head and Ginger glared at him again.

"I can apologize when I'm wrong," he stated angrily. "But I'm not, I'm sure of it. They've got some trick to it. Besides, they didn't deserve an apology."

"How come?" Algy asked.

"When I had said I was sorry, he looked down his nose at me and said it was only to be expected when they sent boys to do a mans job," he was still just about bristling from the insult. "Then to top it of the chief there started yelling at me for it all right there in front of everyone. Got on me for what a fool I was to get on innocent travelers and said he couldn't figure why he asked us for help in the first place when I was an example of how incompetent we all were."

By now Biggles lips where a thin line for such an act was inexcusable. Certainly the man himself were pressured and felt like he was in a tight spot, but that was no reason to treat someone there to help in that manner.

"Good heavens, no wonder you look like thunder," Algy shook his head.

"Doesn't end there," Ginger was calming down a bit now, telling the others of his misfortunes helped some. He pulled up the dressing gown to revel a row of bruises along his shin. "Got tripped up and went down on my face, you'd think they'd never seen something so funny for all they laughed. You'd think it was common decency to at least ask if I was okay, but I reckon they were too busy laughing. To top it all off, I couldn't get a taxi from the bus stop and had to walk here. I can deal with the rain, but when a driver goes through a mud puddle and just about soaks me in mud and don't even stop, then it's just getting too much."

"More than a fair share of misfortunes," Biggles agreed. "I don't blame you for being in such a row about it. But if you want a piece of advice then try calm down, the sooner you do the sooner you will start to feel a bit better."

"I don't feel like anything could make me feel better today," he muttered sourly. "I'm minded to just get off to bed, don't think tomorrow is going to be much better, but I've had all I can take of this day."

"Well, don't go to bed before you've at least had a bite to eat," Biggles told him. "If you do your just gonna be more miserable tonight, if you don't wake up sick from hunger and cold."

"Is there anything left from dinner?" he asked in a voice that rather hinted at someone feeling utterly defeated.

"I don't know, but tell you what. Get yourself off and grab a hot bath, the last thing you need is to catch sick, in the meantime we'll see if Mrs. Symes can't find you something," Biggles decided.

"Why not, I'm too tired to argue," Ginger pushed to his feet and shuffled off towards the bathroom again.

"Poor little blighter," Algy sighed. "I don't think I've ever had a day quite that bad."

"I can't think of one off hand either," Biggles mused. "How about getting some more life in that fire Bertie? And Algy, I know Mrs. Symes intended to fix something up for him when he got home, would you mind seeing if she has anything ready?"

"Not at all," Algy flashed a smile as he headed down the stairs, feeling rather certain that their house keeper would have something ready. She rather spoilt them at times and although it was late she would not retire before Ginger was home and fed. Therefore he was not surprised when she brought out hot soup, fresh warm bread and plenty of cold cuts together with all the makings for a quite filling dinner.

Ginger by that time was just getting out of the bath and his cheeks were flushed from the warmth. With his hair still damp he went to get dressed but Biggles stopped him. Normally he would consider it hardly proper to have dinner wearing a dressing gown, but at the moment he would rather the boy was comfortable. It had not escaped his notice how he shone up when Mrs. Symes put the plate down and urged him to eat the soup before it got cold and she did not have to say it twice.

As hungry as he was Ginger wolfed down the food, causing Biggles to smirk knowingly while Bertie were more concerned he'd forget to chew and choke on the food. It did not take him long to polish it all off and he leaned back in his seat, looking decidedly more at ease with the whole situation.

"What time were you planning on getting up tomorrow?" Biggles asked. "If your alarm clock has given it's last tick-tock I'll get you up."

"I need to be heading out there at about seven, so I shall have to get up at six," Ginger decided. "Not looking forward to it though," he added with a heavy sigh. "I know it's that fellow, I'd bet my life on it, but I don't see how he's doing it."

"Well, don't wreck your brain to pieces about it," Biggles decided. "It'll come to you sooner or later. When it does, you just let me know."

"Okay chief," he nodded. "I just hope they're not going to get nasty about it and file complaints with Raymond or anything of the sort. It could get quite tricky if they do. We'll be winding up getting the rap you know."

"Don't worry about that, they asked for our help and we gave it to them," Biggles decided as he lit a cigarette.

"Yes, but what when they go complaining about who you sent?" Ginger asked glumly.

"I'll tell them that I sent someone fully competent and that I don't expect that I could've done better myself," Biggles stated firmly. "You know that, I wouldn't send you unless I knew you could handle it. They're just looking for some way to shift the blame likely as not. Don't let them get to you laddie."

"I'll try not to," he stifled a yawn. "I'm exhausted, I think I'll go to bed now though."

"You do that," Biggles nodded. He had to admit he was thinking hard about it all, for while he meant every word about Ginger being competent enough he also knew the boy was right. Someone might try to stir up trouble for them on account of it. It was always like that, someone wanted to get out of the hot water and tried to get someone else in it as well. He himself found it annoying but took it as a part of life, Ginger though might start getting to think he had dragged shame over the rest of them by failing at the task dealt him. He rather hoped they could sort out the smuggler racket so that it would not come to that. He was still thinking about it, when Ginger bid them all goodnight and disappeared into his bedroom.

_TBC  
_  
_Please review, the Cricket is hungry_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **A Bad Day story, Ginger has a really rotten bad day and is quite miserable. Biggles and the others try to cheer him up. This was written a time when I was having a day just like Gingers, and writing about him getting comforted rather made me feel better myself.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Biggles. I am merely playing with him and his friends. I give my word that when I am done with them they shall have come to no permanent harm. In case of damage I promise I will fix it with some chewing gum and Ginger's mechanical degree.

_**A VictoryWellEarned**_

Chapter 2

Biggles did not know how long he had slept when he felt someone shake his arm and he came instantly awake. In the darkness of his bedroom he had no hope of seeing who the intruder was, but the voice gave him away.

"I figured it out, I got it now, I've figured it out," Ginger's voice was shrill with eagerness that was barely, if at all, controlled.

Turning his head to the side Biggles saw the luminous face of his watch, it was showing at half past three in the morning. He had not planned to get up more than a few minutes before six, he had no desire to get up any earlier than that. He also found it somewhat curious how someone who had been so worn out the night before could be such a bundle of energy just a few hours later.

"You figured what out?" he demanded.

"How they did it, I know how they got all that stuff through custom, they kept it in the hat," Ginger told him.

"You wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me that they hide it in a hat?" Biggles demanded. "Even at this hour I can tell you that doesn't make sense."

"But that just what it does," Ginger declared eagerly. "It's in the fruit."

"Just now you said it was in the hat," Biggles pointed out in a voice that carried just a hint of venom. Raymond had always told him to always encourage those under you to act on their instincts and to take initiatives when they could. He said it helped them to grow and develop leader skills you would be grateful they had. He was willing to bet Raymond had never been woken up at half past three in the morning by someone raving about hats and fruit.

"Well, the hat or the fruit, what does it matter," Ginger waived the objection away. "It's where it is, you said you wanted to know when I had it all figured out, and I do now."

"I'll tell you something else," Biggles gave him a level stare. "It's half past three in the morning, and if you don't get out of here right now and let me sleep, I shall be putting you to sleep…"

"Right chief, sorry," Ginger gave him a sheepish grin as he made for the door. Halfway through it he turned his head around and gave Biggles a grin that just might have reached from one ear to the other. "But I figured it out…" He closed the door and Biggles turned over trying to go back to sleep. The kid didn't mean any harm, he was just still young enough that it seemed like a good idea to him to wake others up in the middle of the night to share some news. He might have done the same himself at one point, before the war aged him past that kind of youthfulness. Ginger had been through his own share of war, but it had not aged him the same way. He was still too innocent and naïve for it to have had any lasting effect on him. Then again Ginger did have a strange habit of forgetting completely some of the things that should have made him a gray haired old man long before his time. He supposed he was glad that the lad would never be a cynical old man like some he had met, but that did not mean he wasn't going to take it out of him right quick if he made a habit out of waking him the same way…

When his alarm rang in the morning he got up easily enough, years of training in the military had assured that. He knocked on Ginger's door before he pushed it open, not overly surprised the bed was empty. Likely as not the lad had been so excited he didn't go back to bed himself, and then he would be asleep somewhere else for while he might have thought he wouldn't be able to sleep the rest of the night, Biggles knew better.

Sure enough he found him with at the table, his arms folded for a pillow and an empty mug beside him. Still not wearing anything but his pajamas.

"Come on lad, up with you," he smiled as he shook his shoulder.

"Huh," he raised his head and blinked confused as he looked around himself.

"If you are wondering why you're not in your bed, I'd say you've only yourself to blame," Biggles stated dryly. "Why didn't you go back asleep?"

"Are you funning me?" Ginger blinked. "I had no hope of sleeping after I figured the whole mess out."

"Not in your bed no," Biggles snorted. "But apparently the table is another matter. I'm willing to bet your pretty stiff and sore now."

"Well, some," he shrugged. "But I did figure it out."

"And I will consider strangling you if you ever try pull that stunt again. What made you think I wanted to get dragged up in the middle of the night?"

"Well, you did say to tell you when I had it figured," Ginger gave him a sheepish grin. "I guess I just got so excited I couldn't help myself."

"I know," he nodded. "Get yourself ready for breakfast, then you can tell me about it as we eat."

Ginger headed for the bathroom and returned shortly, dressed and ready for breakfast.

"There, now why don't you tell me about it all," Biggles requested as they both sat down to eat.

"Well, I weren't really thinking about it before, I noticed it, but for some reason it didn't strike home," Ginger started. "I know it was the guy, but he had nothing on him, but he's always traveling with his wife, and she's got one of them hats with fruits on it."

"I know the kind, ghastly things," Biggles smiled. "But really lad, if she was carrying it under her hat so to say, I think they would have found it. Most of the time you take off your hat through custom."

"Not under the hat, in the hat," Ginger burst out. "That's what struck me, it looks slightly different from time to time. There are grapes and oranges and that kind of thing on it, but sometimes they kinda change."

"Change?" Biggles frowned. "When you took that dive yesterday, did you hit your head on anything?"

"How about you listen to me before you tell me how wrong I am?" Ginger asked sounding hurt. "If you're gonna be like that it's no different from trying to explain to them."

"Sorry lad," Biggles apologized. "I'll listen."

"Well, it's like this, I've never paid much attention to hats, I guess that's why it took me so long, but I swear that thing looks slightly different from time to time. Like one of the oranges is more yellow one time and then more orange, and the grapes kind of move around. I could swear the last time I saw it they were centered, and then yesterday they were more off to the side."

"Are you absolutely certain?" Biggles asked carefully.

"Yes," he nodded confidently. "I'd stake my life on it. That hat is changing. Those fruits could be made to have the stuff in them. How hard would it be to bake a ring into a fake grape and put it on a ladies hat?"

"I think it could be done," Biggles decided. "If you are right, but it won't be fun if you're wrong."

"Well, I'm not." Ginger stated firmly. "Why would she be changing that hat?"

"I can think of no other reason," Biggles admitted. "I'm willing to act on it. Even should worse come to worse we might as well look foolish doing something as doing nothing."

"I am sure of it," Ginger insisted.

"And I trust you," Biggles nodded. "How about I come along to have a dekko at it? If that darn hat changes again we'll see what we can do about it."

"I'd rather handle it on my own," Ginger stated a bit hesitantly. "I mean, it's me they've been laughing at the whole time. If that's the trick, I don't want it said that I had to be saved by my chief from embarrassing myself."

"I'd like to be along, but you do have a point there," Biggles admitted. "Alright, you go on like before, but if it looks like it might get ugly, or if you think you need help, you give us a call. We could be standing by on the sideline so to say."

"That'll be fine," Ginger smiled. "It'd serve them right for how they treated me out there."

"Just be careful," Biggles cautioned him. He was glad that Ginger was in a better mood, and he believed that he might very well be right. It could be something else, but that would be too much of a coincidence. Likely as not Ginger had figured it out, he just hoped nothing messed up the conclusion of the case.

They had to wait a few days as well as the couple would be in England for a few days. The rest of them were eagerly waiting for Ginger's return every day to hear if there was any news.

Hearing the door a few days later they looked up and Biggles frowned over the sight. The first thing he noticed was the black eye that Ginger sported together a white patch of bandage taped over his eye, the second thing the huge grin and the third and last a large tear in his coat.

"I was right," he cried happily. "The whole lot of it was hidden in that false fruit."

"That's fine and well, but what the dickens happened to you?" Biggles requested.

"Oh," Ginger waved it away. "When I saw that the oranges and one of the bananas had traded places I asked her if I could have a closer dekko at her hat, she swung her purse in my face and tried to get away. I caught up with her and she started fighting me, after that it was rather obvious that they were up to something. So we took them aside and she cracked up and confessed the whole deal. They bought stolen goods and hid it in the false fruit, then sold it when they got to the other side. Simple as that."

"Great work you figured it out," Biggles smiled. Which from him was quite a statement. "I would guess they were glad they had you then."

"Certainly," he smiled. "Apologized to me for losing their temper before and everything. Even said he was going to phone later to thank Raymond for lending them our help."

"Splendid chap, splendid," Bertie laughed.

"That'll help to make our name," Algy laughed.

"Go get yourself cleaned up," Biggles decided. "I think it deserves a bit of celebration. Won't you run down tell Mrs. Symes we shall be going out to eat Algy?"

Ginger disappeared to put on a clean change of clothes, returning still smiling as broadly when Algy came back up.

"She told us to have a good time, and said she's going to prepare the roast for tomorrow instead," he told them. "I took the liberty of explaining why we will be celebrating," he explained to Ginger. "And so she also wanted me to convey her congratulations, but also to tell you that if you're not more careful she's going to have a word with you."

"Ah, does indeed sound like our dear Mrs. Symes," Bertie grinned as he polished his monocle. "Better watch yourself lad or you might get in trouble."

"Tease me as you will, today nothing can ruin my good mood." Ginger laughed happily, there was something about having succeeded that made everything in the world seem more pleasant. Being congratulated by your friends certainly helped to, and when even Biggles said you had done a good job, you knew it was true without doubt.

**The End**

_**Please Review, the Cricket is hungry…..**_

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